The Territory is home to some interesting creatures. The mullet wearing, tattoo bearing, chain smoking, beer drinking, crocodile wresting beasts and creations with brains the size of a walnut, armoured exteriors and webbed feet. It’s also been said ‘you can’t tame them, but you can train them’. I’ll let you decide which of the above best describes the Territorians and which the crocodiles 😂 💪 🐊

Once we’d stopped to take the obligatory picture of leaving one state to enter another (or Territory in this case), the WA police happily waved us away, but there was no one in the Northern Territory (NT) to welcome us. Strange, thought we’d have someone check us out or ask for paperwork, but nada! We didn’t go far before we found a lovely camp spot, tucked away down by the dry riverbed of the Keep River next to a mini Bungle Bungles. The following morning, we took a walk around the sandstone outcrops, with rock pigeons perched on top, traditional tropical dryland bush all around. Trying to avoid the stabs from the spinifex was the hardest bit of the walk.

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We continued north towards Katherine and about 30km up the road, we hit the new border! An army command station, white tents erected, with a dozen or so squaddies holed up in the shade, looking a little bored! A simple questionnaire had to be filled out with contact details and our destination…erm, a loop around NT?? And we were back on our way, conscious’ clear we weren’t bringing Covid-19 into NT.

First stop was Katherine and we based ourselves at Manbulloo Homestead Caravan Park. There’s a fair bit to do in Katherine and its surrounds, yet with taking a ride on the back of a ute to feed the buffalos, cows & bulls in the morning and the horses and birds in the evening, the kids could have just played here all day and be happily entertained. There were quite a few travelling families staying, kids ran wild while adults chatted the night away. It really felt like a little community.
After a lazy morning, we went to take a dip in the local hot springs. Typically it was a weekend, and a long one at that, so we were prepared for ‘busy-ness’, but even after such a long time on the road and staying fairly remote the majority of the time, I still think back to Sydney busy, so it’s always a nice surprise when we turn up and the place is only half full.

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That evening we went to Tom Curtain’s Outback Experience, which must be one of the funniest events I’ve been to since being on the road. The show celebrates the Northern Territory’s unique Pastoral history and culture through real horse-starting and working dog demonstrations, live music and story telling. This certainly isn’t your standard run-of-the-mill type Outback Show, it really is an Experience.

It started with Tom breaking in a young horse and taking us through the process, step by step as he talked about the psychology of the animal. Just looking at how the horse positioned their ears, wrinkled their nose and held their tail, detailed its feelings whether it be anger, arrogance, or subservience to name a few.
A world away from one I’ve known, it was really interesting to watch the process of how he got the saddle on to the horse’s back. A fun fact from this demonstration was that apparently horses love having their eyeballs massaged!! We all got to feed goats and buffalos that were brought into the ring before we moved on to the next area to watch how they train the dogs.

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This was certainly the highlight of the show. There were eight dogs in the ring, some a dab hand at being a farm dog (at the end of their training) and others new to the game. All were sat proud on upended barrels ready to start their training. Three goats were led into the centre of the ring and you could see the dogs twitch, desperate to jump down to get to them. A couple did and Tom barked at them to get back up on their barrels, and they obediently followed. It was then like a horse race, Tom growling out commands like the fast-talking commentator, for dogs to jump down, back off, round up and get back to their barrel.

The training did not go according to plan. It was more like trying to get kindy children to synchronise dance steps, while having their legs tied together and being blindfolded. Imagine the game ‘what time is it Mr Wolf?’. As soon as Tom turned his back, the dogs would creep off the bins, trying to get closer to the oblivious goats, standing in the middle trying to have ‘special cuddles’. It was hilarious. It wasn’t a polished show, it wasn’t meant to be. It was fresh and raw and you could clearly see the skill of Tom, who demonstrated so much patience and commitment to the training. There was one particular dog, Donc, who stole the hearts of many, he was the naughty one. Jumping down at any opportunity, sneaking around and doing whatever he pleased, he reminded me of my cheeky Little Fella!

It was then time for Tom to ride his horse and sing us a song while the kids had a competition pretending to be cows while the horse rounded them up. That was entertainment in itself. The experience ended with six little puppies being brought out for a cuddle and play, which I think was the highlight for most children there.
It was up early doors the next day as we had a kayak trip planned at Nitmiluk NP (Katherine Gorge). After a boat trip down gorge one – you can’t kayak there due to the Salties – we hopped off and took a walk over a natural rocky break to collect our kayaks. Clearly, the Salties respect this segregation and happily stay in gorge one so we can swim, angst free, from then on…!

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Once round at the kayaks, Lexi and I paired off into one, while the boys took another. Apparently, there was some sort of race on, as before we’d even got ourselves organised, everyone else had paddled off into the distance. We may have come last in the race, but it meant we had the gorge all to ourselves. Beautiful. After a relaxed evening with new friends Trent and Leonie and their two girls Pip and Heidi, it was time to move on to Mataranka. Reo had been waiting for this moment for about, erm,…. a year! The main event here is the one and only Mr. Nathan ‘Whippy’ Griggs. The five-time whip cracking Guinness world record holder and boy, can he put on a show.

There are more springs in the area. Mataranka Springs a quick walk from camp and Bitter Springs a short drive. So the following day we started with a long dip in Mataranka, then popped over to Bitter to float down the natural, crystal clear waters. We could have lounged there all day it was so relaxing. We needed to get some welding done on the van, so it was time to pop back to Katherine to drop it off while we explored Edith Falls. It’s a short, steep walk up to the top of the falls, where you can cool down and splash carefree in the small water pools then warm yourself up on the smooth rocks. You’ve always got the ‘croc thought’ at the back of your mind and looking down from the top of the waterfall at the green waters in the large pool below, you wonder how the rangers are so confident there’s no Salties lurking. We walked down to the lower pool and had a dip but didn’t stray too far from the steps!

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It was time to move on to Kakadu National Park. We’d heard many rumours along the travelling grapevine that is was more Kaka-don’t, but I think you need to make up your own mind and after meandering through lush rainforests, rocky gorges and serene swimming pools, we couldn’t understand why it had been labelled this way.

Kakadu is Australia’s biggest national park with ancient landscapes with thundering waterfalls, lush rainforests, wandering wetlands, exotic wildlife and ancient rock art. Some people get a little gorged out, but I just don’t seem to tire of them. Each one different to the next and if there’s a water hole at the end, it certainly gets a thumbs up from us. We spent just under a week exploring the area. There were still a few areas closed due to Covid with local communities being close by, but it didn’t impact on our enjoyment. We pulled into our first camp at Maguk Falls mid-afternoon and managed to ride shotgun with another family down to the falls which saved us from unhitching. It was a short walk over rocks, passing the locals down from Darwin partying in the shallows with their music blaring and tinnies in hand, towards the plunge pool at the base of the falls. The water was certainly cooler than the warm springs we’d just been visiting, but after the hot sun on our backs, it was nice and refreshing to take a dip. We spent the evening round the campfire with our new buddies Simon, Katherine, Isaac and Arthur who’d given us the lift and we ready to roll nice and early the next day – well, let’s say mid-morning!

We had a grand plan of the route we were going to take the next few days, which was promptly changed as soon as we were told we needed to be guided by the tides at Cahill Crossing, if we wanted to see crocs in action. This spot is one of the two routes into Arnhem Land from Kakadu NP. The East Alligator River has a 6m tidal range and as the tide changes, the brownish waters turned dirty as the spring tide flowed over the crossing, pulling tonnes of water with it, the fish then swim upstream and the crocs lie in wait for their feast. Well, that’s the theory anyway! It was pretty amazing to see the crocs literally appear from the murky depths, line up and take their spots in the hope of catching a Barra. We didn’t really see much fish jumping action, but it was quite incredible to see the crocs appearing. We counted over thirty, but they say for every one croc on the surface, there’s five underneath. Even just looking at them, they certainly create a level of anxiety in me and when I saw cars driving over the causeway as it was in flood, I could feel my heart beating faster with each one. Let’s just say we wouldn’t be swimming or crossing in these waters anytime soon!

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We have seen a fair bit of Aboriginal artwork since being on the road and as Ubirr’s rock art is considered among the best in the world, we went to check it out. Aboriginal art varies widely across the country, and while dot art most widely known, this type of art is particular to central Australia. Here we saw x-ray paintings and contact art from the time when Indigenous people first encountered Europeans. Much of the art here features fish, turtles, goanna and other important food animals. There’s a ‘main gallery’ of art, with a painting of a thylacine (the Tasmanian tiger, which became extinct on the mainland more than two thousand years ago), giving an insight into just how old this art is.

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We continued up Ubirr Rock. From the top we had incredible views over the floodplains. Gazing out over them, the woodlands and the dark ribbons of rainforest, you half expected dinosaurs to start roaming around. As the sun began to set, the birds began their evening chorus and a couple of rock wallabies darted about in the long shadows, cast from the last rays of the evening sun. It was pretty magical.

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We based ourselves at Cooinda for the next few nights. Intermingled with a couple of lazy days, we managed to rise before dawn one morning to make a sunrise cruise on the Yellow Water (Ngurrungurrudjba) billabong. The name Yellow Water comes from the colour of the water during the wet season when the tannins from the trees in the water wash downstream. Once on the boat, a tinge of yellow on the horizon was appearing as mist rose from the water’s surface. We saw a buffalo strolling in the grass, a croc peeping from the reeds and an egret picking its breakfast. It was so tranquil. Woody was our guide and he was extremely knowledgeable and quite a wit, which made for an entertaining tour.

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I’m certainly not a Twitcher but Woody was so knowledgeable that his enthusiasm was infectious. We saw ducks, magpie geese, different types of nightingales, eagles, Goss Hawk whistling kites, shags, Nankeen night herons, brolgas, white bellied eagles and crimson finches to name a few (not that I could tell you what any of them looked like now!). My favourite without a shadow of doubt was the Jabiru (Australia’s largest stork). Its head is Avatar blue, has bright yellow eyes, a black and white body and pink flamingo legs. It creates quite a striking view.

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We saw a few crocodiles lurking in the waters, although not as many as I expected, but the best action we got was one munching on a File Snake. It was brought to my attention that my red fleece would be eyed up by the crocs as they are attracted to the colour, so I made sure I kept my arms firmly inside the boat. Woody shared a few fun facts with us; crocs have 3 eyelids, the scutes (raised bits on their backs) break the water in such a way that they leave no ripple effect in the water and each tooth gives one tonne of downward pressure – they have sixty-four teeth – that’s a lot of chomp!! It felt like we were in a David Attenborough documentary.

We managed a day trip to Jim Jim Falls, a place I’d held fond memories of its beauty from a previous visit. We’d been here 14 years ago, yet being new to Australia then, I still remember the horror crocs filled me with. Not sure I even put a toe in the water then! Yet here we were, nonchalantly telling the kids that once they passed the first water hole with the ‘no swimming’ signs by the water and the ginormous croc cage settled in the shallows on the off chance a croc comes out from under a log, they would be fine to jump in! Just like Nitmiluk, these NT crocs respect boundaries!! After the 45minute hot walk in, it was nice to cool down in the waters, although I can never seem to shake the apprehension that I’m being watched. 👀

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The bright lights of the city were calling so we headed into Darwin. Traffic lights, busyness, mullets, malls, markets, cars, water parks, more mullets, and a portion of the Gibb River Gang were all waiting for us. Like a moth to a flame, we were drawn to the shops wondering what goodies we could buy, that we didn’t need or really want. I did think there was something wrong with our family, but after talking with many others, it appears it’s a common travelling thing to do! Maybe it’s hankering for a bit of normal, after constantly being on the move and more often than not remote, who knows, but we do it e v e r y s i n g l e t i m e we’re in a town.

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There’s quite a bit to do in Darwin. Amongst the Aviation museum parading a whole heap of planes, in particular an impressive B-52 bomber and learning about a group of men flying from London to Brisbane in 30 days in the early 1900’s, visiting the Mindil Markets to eat stall food while applauding the sunset and watching artists play with fire, taking a trip to see ‘Sweetheart’, the 5.1m crocodile that had a taste for outboard motors, tipping the owners into the water, and of course cooling down in the air-conditioned malls with said luxury shops to buy something we don’t really need, the time passed quickly.

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The temperature and humidity had risen a notch and with big, bulbous clouds in the sky, the chatter was that the wet was coming early. It was great to hang around with The Beachs again and we all enjoyed the free water parks Darwin had to offer. The highlight of our short time in the city was by far Crocosaurus Cove. Home to some of the Territories ‘problem crocs’ and a great place to learn about Australian wildlife.

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Alex and I had booked the ‘Cage Of Death’. Lexi was desperate to do it as well, but you had to be over 15, something to add to her ever-growing bucket list! This experience gets you up close and personal with the crocs. We were introduced to Wendell, who was big, bad and full of attitude, and the croc we were going to liaise with. This 5.5m predator weighing approximately 800kg, looked so docile, yet can eat a cow for breakfast and take a human as if it were a lolly, to say the nerves were a little twitchy was an understatement!! 🤔

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As I descended into the cage, it moved, of course it did, it was on chains, but it took me by surprise none the less. I was prepared for when Alex climbed in. I’m not sure how jumping into a cage with a man-eating crocodile is any more dangerous than a cage to swim with a great white shark, but it somehow felt so. We’ve had some amazing experiences over the years, but this one certainly refocused me on how insignificant humans are in the eco system of these wild animals. We were mere lollipops if anything went significantly wrong, right?!

The chains began to crank as the cage moved, heightening the already sprung-tight nerves. As the tank swayed, I could feel my heart beating faster, my mouth becoming dry, as we moved closer to this monster. A mixture of excitement and nerves were pulsating around my body, although the scales were tipping towards nerves. It’s hard to describe the feeling when you come face to face with a salty. THEY ARE MASSIVE. Incredibly, as soon as our heads were under the water, the butterflies left and only awe and wonderment lingered.

We could feel Wendell looking at us, sizing us up, mere morsels, probably wondering what flavour lolly we were. 😳 The trainers enticed him closer to the cage by dangling a piece of meat in front of him, those teeth cm’s from us, luckily through thick Perspex as their powerful jaw would snap you in half with one bite. As it closed its mouth shut, you expect to hear a loud clashing of teeth, but instead you get a muted pop or soft thud, which belies the power behind it. It was truly incredible see them up close and personal AND live to tell the tale. Adrenaline rush does not come close to describing this experience.

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The children got to feed the baby crocodiles and swim safely next to them in another tank, although they spent more time playing around in the water and enjoying cooling down than actually looking at the crocodiles! We got to see a water python eating a rat, fed a blue-tongued lizard and stroked a turtle. The best bit about the turtle talk was that we learnt Australian freshwater turtles can breathe through their bottom! 😆 It was an awesome way to end our time in Darwin.

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We’d booked a night on a houseboat on the Corroboree billabong. After our encounter with Wendell, we wondered what could be more fun than spending a night on a billabong that has the highest concentration of Salties in the world….? The boat took me back to when we used to hire houseboats with friends on The Hawkesbury River near Sydney, although the copious amount of booze, swimming and raucous behaviour was now replaced with young children, fishing rods and binoculars to search out Wendell’s distant relatives.

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It was a pink, rectangular box with a cube on top for our bedroom (Lexi & Reo were downstairs on the make-shift bunks) and she was called Joyce. It was fun chugging along the waterways, kids trawling for fish and searching for crocs. Lexi and Reo are pretty croc wise, although I did get a little jumpy when the odd limb hung over the side as they were playing with the rods. We’d been told to anchor well before dusk and make sure that the nets were down to stop the flurry of flying insects on the back deck and boy were we glad we did. With no ambient light, the stars dazzled above and we sat on the top deck trying to remember our constellations from previous star-gazing experiences.

As we all retired to bed, any romantic dalliances were quickly dashed as Reo popped straight upstairs saying he was scared, quickly followed by Lexi (probably just feeling a little left out). A quick rearrangement and I was relegated to downstairs with Lexi while Reo enjoyed the comfy double bed with daddy. It was a fun thing to do, but personally I’m not sure it was worth the money (maybe had I been allowed to stay in my bed I might have had a different opinion!!).

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What was value for money was taking a cruise down the Adelaide River to see the jumping crocs. Another way to see these creatures up close but in their natural habitat. As soon as the engines started and prop engaged, the crocs came a swimming! Clearly conditioned to the lumps of steak dished out daily, they came from all directions. There are certain rules around feeding the crocs, one of them being they’re still made to work for their feed. They must jump 3 times before being allowed the morsel of steak to ensure they don’t become reliant on this treat. It is truly incredible to see the power of these creatures. They can lift three-quarters of their body out of the water just by the swish of their tail. It is an astonishing sight to see. The crocodiles performed magnificently and as we witnessed their jaws clamping down on that chunk of meat, it took me back to the Cage Of Death and how close we got Wendell, even more appreciative of that very thick piece of Perspex between us.

With so many adrenaline-inducing adventures, it was time to experience more relaxing waters, and so on to Litchfield National Park it was.